Lindsay's Lessons

Well, it seems that the momentum has officially shifted and perhaps a few people other than me are starting to ask, "What's the Matta?" As I read the sports blogs and comments we're starting to see threads questioning Matta's recruiting, our less than stellar defensive strategy and why a 7'0 center isn't pulling down rebounds.

Perhaps greater than that, the trip to the NCAA tourney that was reported to be a lock just a few weeks ago, is now being questioned with some speculating as to whether we'll be making back-to-back appearances in the NIT. If that's the case, I have a feeling the tide will officially turn and soon instead of it being slammed as the "Not Invited Tourney," we may hear references of "Not In Thad" popping up. To be clear, Ohio State has the best fans in country, but we also have the highest expectations. And if the seats in the arena aren't full, the wins aren't being posted and we're not making a decent showing in the NCAA tournament on a consistent basis, things will turn quickly from fair weather fan to severe weather alert.

That being said, I don't think the train is off the tracks yet. And, I think with a few simple adjustments we can salvage the season.

1. For starters, we've got to tackle this issue of defense. Matta says that in practice the man-to-man is a mess, so we're sticking to only a zone in games. The problem being, I don't know how bad the man-to-man really is in practice, but the zone has proven to be ineffective in games. Thus, I think we're at the point where we've at least got to mix it up a little to make our opponents work a little harder. Let's face it, children across the country are playing man-to-man defense in Junior High games and on playgrounds every day, so I'd like to think we can at least be competent enough to pull it out during a game situation.

2. This rebounding situation is a tremendous problem, and it doesn't have to do with height or ability. It clearly has to do with lack of effort. Our guys are never in position to get rebounds, nor are they trying to get in position. The result - we are getting very few if any second-chance points and it's allowing us to ultimately defeat ourselves in a game situation.

More frustrating than that is that during this most recent outing, the ball literally hit the floor after a missed shot because no one went after it. That incident was immediately followed by a timeout, which should have been a coach's dream for getting in someone's face a making a pretty clear point. Instead, Matta let his players loaf off the floor and sit in the huddle for 60 seconds while he exchanged notes with his assistant coaching staff before sitting down calmly with the players.

You don't have to be Bobby Knight to tell your team that they don't get to sit down this break because they haven't given enough effort to earn the privilege. If the ball hits the floor after a missed shot and no one even attempted to go after it, then use the opportunity presented to be a teaching moment and make your team understand that if you're lazy on the floor, you don't get to be lazy in the timeout. And if you're lazy on the floor long enough, you're going to be lazy on the bench.

3. This leads into our problem of lack of motivation. Every game Jon Diebler plays the entire game whether he scores 2 points or 28 points. Likewise, Dallas Lauderdale starts every game whether he has performed well, or contributed nothing. The list goes on and on.

We must move to a system where players are able to earn things and required to work hard to keep what they have earned. Otherwise, a Jon Diebler has no incentive to play hard in a tough game because there will be no discipline if he chooses to stand on the floor with his arms folded. And a BJ Mullens has no incentive to work for a rebound because he's not going to earn a starting position even if he records a double-double every game.

There has to be a system of reward, for their to be motivation. That system is clearly not in place and the result is obvious.

4. We win as a team. We lose as a team. We play as a team. We dress as a team. It sounds very simple, but it's not happening. The last game our team emerged from the locker room with some wearing white warm-ups, some wearing red warm-ups and others wearing a long-sleeve red t-shirt. Likewise, instead of our injured players coming out wearing shirts and ties looking respectable and supporting the team, I saw everything from sweats, to jeans to untucked shirts.

I fully believe that if you want to be successful, you have to look successful. Seeing these little things happening on the sidelines signals to me that we've got some things that need to be tightened up in the program as a whole, and they are symbolic of what we're seeing happening on the court. They are gaps in discipline and team structure, akin to our gaps in defense.

Mandating these little things, raises the expectations placed upon the players, thus forcing them to live up to the expectations put upon them. And pretty soon, the little gaps disappear and it raises the bar for the entire team.

I truly hope that Matta can tighten the screws for this team in time to earn a trip to the NCAA tournament. Unlike our present system that rewards players regardless of performance, the NCAA won't be so forgiving in their selections.

Many of you will recall that a couple of years ago I had a little run in with the folks at Micro Center in Columbus that led to one of my more colorful blog posts. At that time, I swore off the store, the company, their products and anything else associated with them. However, my relentless pursuit of justice eventually led me to the president's office, where I finally found some level of competence and some folks who genuinely seemed to care about the poor ways in which their stores were conducting business.

Lo and behold, two years later with our move to new studios came the need for more computer equipment. And it just so happens that we are now located within ten minutes of the Micro Center in question. Believing that my previous experience might have been the exception rather than the rule, we decided to break down and give them another shot.

You see Micro Center has you when you walk in the door because while they may be grossly negligent in some areas, they are more than proficient at keeping an ample inventory of products and a decent number of sales associates who are educated enough to explain how you might use those products. As in the past, the shopping experience went well and we walked out the door feeling satisfied.

Unfortunately, it's when you actually use the products that you will learn the rest of the story. The first computer we plugged in immediately gave warnings of thermal problems associated with a bad fan. Sure enough, our engineers opened it up and the fan did not work. Our engineer quickly replaced the fan and the problem was resolved. Still - it's a new computer, so I would kind of expect that it might have worked with its original parts.

Then, we moved onto computer number two. We plugged it in and guess what - thermal issues. It's a coincidence of tremendous proportions, right? Allow me to rewind to my post of two years ago when we purchased a computer from Micro Center and plugged it in only to discover that our brand new computer had thermal issues. With that in mind, now we've moved from a coincidence to a trend.

This time the fan appeared to be working just fine, but there was no doubt the computer was not in proper working order. Every time we would start it, we received the thermal warning and it shut down. So off to MicroCenter we go to return the brand new computer that has not worked right since the first time it was plugged in.

At most stores, they give you a replacement product, apologize and send you on your way. Not at Micro Center. Remember that pesky little policy they have about refusing to replace the product until you've paid a diagnostic fee in the repair shop? Unfortunately this time I wasn't present when the computer went back to the store to inform them that I have my own policy not to pay for repair work on things that were broke when I bought them. So the computer went into the repair shop.

Three days later the folks at Micro Center called to say that they had monitored the computer for 72 hours and it had not shut down or shown any signs of thermal issues. So back to Micro Center we go to pick up the computer. We returned to the office, plugged it in, and immediately were given warnings of thermal issues before it shut down. Now you can't tell me that they spent three days with this computer and this didn't happen.

Now at the same time that we were experiencing these issues with our new Powerspec Computers (that's MicroCenter's brand), we had another employee who required a new motherboard in her server (which incidentally was purchased a couple of years ago from Micro Center). Since it was purchased at Micro Center, she took it to them to seek repair. They offered to order her a new motherboard, which she was told would take a couple of weeks to come in and cost an outrageous amount of money. Considering that she wasn't planning to take the next two weeks off work, we jumped on the internet where we quickly found the exact same motherboard for a fraction of the price that Micro Center wanted to charge, and were able to have it delivered within 24 hours.

Now I'm not telling you that I would never shop at Micro Center again. I suppose that if someday my computer and car break down simultaneously and I am forced to shop for a new computer in a store that is within a bike ride from the office, I might give it a try.

This time I'm simply suggesting to the few thousand people who read this blog that they may wish to tell their thousands of friends about my experience at Micro Center. Think of it like that little chain note on Facebook that just keeps spreading, or like those chain emails that circulate every so often. Everyone will the message sooner or later.

Remember - three computers over two years and all three experienced thermal problems. They were all Powerspec computers, the Micro Center store brand, and Micro Center was not willing to replace any of them. That's their policy.

Yes - I'm up on my soapbox again, but I am convinced that if I stand here and shout long enough that someone might just get annoyed enough to pay attention.

Last night, Buckeye fans were treated to another disappointing showing by our men's basketball team. And once again, Coach Matta subscribed to the theory that even though it's broke, we aren't going to fix it. At halftime, Erin Andrews of ESPN asked Matta about the first half and what needed to change in the second half of the game. His answer was that we weren't able to give Jon Diebler enough open looks and needed to do a better job of getting him open in the second half.

Let's be clear in that Jon Diebler's issue isn't with getting open looks. His problem is with consistency in his shots. When Diebler is on target, he can drain three-pointers while being off balance with a defender in his face. But when things aren't firing on all cylinders, it doesn't matter if he's the only guy on the court, his shots aren't going to fall. This was clear in the early season when teams with weak defenses still held Diebler to few points, regardless of the open opportunities he was given. This is a consistency issue, not an issue of opportunity.

I want to be clear that I don't have a problem with Jon Diebler being on the team, but I do have a very big issue with us continuing to center an offense around our streakiest shooter when we have other proven talent on the team. If you're team leader Evan Turner who is out there working your tail off to get open looks, it sure must be frustrating to go it alone while the rest of the offense works to open up Diebler. Likewise for William Buford and for our big guys down low who get no help in opening up the paint.

Don't take my word for it - look at the facts:

For the season, Jon Diebler averages 33.7 minutes per game for a total of 573 minutes played. During that time, he's scored 179 points. In contrast, Evan Turner averages 33.9 minutes per game, has played a total of 577 minutes and recorded 259 points. That's 80 more points in just five more minutes!

How about William Buford? He is averaging 24.8 minutes and has only played 421 total minutes on the season, yet his point total is still higher than Diebler at 183. In his case, he has scored five more points than Diebler in 152 less minutes of playing time!

Now, let's look at shooting percentage from the field:
Diebler - 41.6%
Turner - 48.3%
Buford - 43.2%

How about shooting percentage from behind the three point arc where Diebler is supposed to excel?
Diebler - 40.6%
Turner - 57.1%

Now, based solely on the facts, if I'm a betting person and I am going to set-up my offense around a certain player, would it be Jon Diebler? I don't think so.

The bottom line is that this team has talent. And yes, even Diebler can be a contributor. However, unless we look at what the facts are clearly telling us and recognize that we're pinning our hopes and dreams on the wrong player, we're going to continue to see more of the same for the rest of the season. And ultimately, we'll wind up becoming a familiar face in the NIT tourney.

It is tradition at ABN that we kick off our remote broadcasts each year from the Ohio Fair Managers Convention in Columbus. This year was no exception, and despite the OFMA having to make some changes to the convention to accommodate the closure of Battelle Hall, the convention was a tremendous success.

Once again, we enjoyed the opportunity to catch up with county fair board members from across the state as we began laying the groundwork for the 2009 ABN County Fair and Festival Tour.

However, there was one thing that happened at this year's convention that could not have caught me more by surprise. During the annual luncheon hosted by Ohio Director of Agriculture Robert Boggs, the Director opened his comments by saying he wanted to make a special presentation. I was completely caught off guard when he began talking about ABN Radio, and ultimately about my election to serve as Vice President of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting, before presenting me with a recognition as an Ambassador for Agriculture.

This was a truly thoughtful and very meaningful surprise, and I couldn't have been more delighted. There were three things that came to mind that I shared with those in attendance as I accepted the honor, but I feel it appropriate to share them here as well.

The first was that as I stood looking down at the certificate which read "Ambassador for Agriculture," I immediately thought of my mentor, Ed Johnson. I make no secret of the fact that I owe a great deal to Ed. Everything from my initial interest in ag communication, to my desire to work in farm radio and ultimately his creation of the company that Andy and I are now blessed to operate stems from EJ.

Second, I thought of how appropriate it was that this was given during the OFMA convention. It was an honor to stand in front of friends we've made from across the state via our annual County Fair and Festival Tour. Moreover, the county fair has become one of the last annual displays of agriculture in many communities, and were it not for the continuation of agriculture within the county fair, many who have become generations removed from the family farm might not have any exposure to livestock or farming. For that reason, our county fairs that work hard to keep agriculture as a centerpiece of their events are serving as agricultural ambassadors themselves.

Last, it was an honor to receive the presentation from Director Boggs. It's hard to believe that just a few years ago, prior to his appointment at ODA, we didn't even know one another. In his role, he has been very open about the happenings within ODA, always willing to sit down and talk about what's happening in the industry, and has gone out of his way to work with us.

I've watched him at the county fairs, willing to stop and talk with anyone, and making every effort to visit as many fairs as possible despite his busy schedule. He has listened when I've had questions or concerns about things we've seen in the industry, and he's taken those conversations to heart. And he's assembled a staff at the Ohio Department of Agriculture that consistently displays the utmost professionalism and courtesy.

Those are a few of the many reasons that it was such a special honor to receive the citation, and again I thank the Director for making such a thoughtful presentation.

This morning I wrapped up the morning show and sat down to pound out the latest edition of "What's the Matta?" after Ohio State's rather tragic loss to West Virginia over the weekend. However, before I could offer up some insight and my own list of what should be Coach Matta's New Year's Resolutions, I learned that guard Anthony Crater has left the team mid-season and announced that he will transfer.

While Matta and Crater have not offered details of the decision, Crater's former AAU coach did not hesitate. Here's a recap from Bob Baptist of the Columbus Dispatch:

Assuming the new year means a fresh start, it can't get here soon enough for the Ohio State men's basketball team.

Twelve days ago, a broken bone in his left foot put captain David Lighty on the shelf for six to 12 weeks.

Saturday, the No.15 Buckeyes suffered their worst home loss in nearly 11 years, 76-48 to West Virginia.

Yesterday, a back court rotation already thinned by shuffling forced by Lighty's injury lost another option when backup point guard Anthony Crater, at his request, was released from his scholarship.

"We appreciate the contribution Anthony made to our program. We wish him the best," coach Thad Matta said in a statement issued by the athletics department.

Crater and Matta did not return messages seeking further comment, but Crater's former AAU coach, Carlos Fordham of Flint, Mich., said Crater was unhappy that Matta "was not living up to" promises he made to Crater.

Crater, who made an oral commitment to Ohio State in November 2006, was told when he was recruited that he would be the starting point guard after Mike Conley Jr. left the program, Fordham said.

Crater also was told by Matta last spring that the acquisition of junior-college guard Jeremie Simmons "wouldn't affect his playing time," Fordham said, because Simmons was "coming in as a combo guard, a backup, because they needed another shooter in the program."

Simmons has started all 10 games at the point and averaged twice as many minutes as Crater.

"We don't like people to lie to us," Fordham said. "That was a lie."

Fordham said Crater has been pondering leaving for two weeks but likes his teammates and did not want to distract from the team's undefeated start. The Buckeyes lost their first game Saturday. They open the Big Ten season Wednesday against Iowa.

Crater has mentioned South Florida, Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas and Notre Dame as schools to which he would be interested transferring, Fordham said.

"He likes programs that go up and down (the court)," Fordham said. "Unfortunately, him and Thad are in two different playbooks."

In the spirit of the holidays, and to sum up my response, I'll quote Clark from the movie Christmas Vacation, "If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am now."

Then again, maybe I'm not surprised at all. While Fordham may have been quick to cite Crater's position as being a number two for guard Jeremie Simmons who's in the starting five, I would argue that the larger problem is not only Crater's lack of playing time, but lack of evidence that he might see more in the future based on the precedent set forth by Matta's continued unwavering loyalty to former Mr. Ohio Basketball Jon Diebler.

Now - before all of Upper Sandusky jumps on me - let me state my case by offering up some statistics because numbers don't lie. For the season, Diebler has been averaging 32 minutes per game, putting him in a tie with Evan Turner. That being said, let's compare the two players performances since they've averaged the same amount of playing time, thus putting them on a somewhat level playing field.

On the season Diebler has shot 78 times from the field, connecting on only 31 of those shots for an average of just under 40 percent from the field. In contrast, Turner has made 55 of 109 attempts, putting him at an average of just under 51% from the field. From behind the three-point arc where Diebler is expected to excel, he has shot just 36 percent, whereas Turner who plays both guard and forward has shot just shy of 55% (albeit in fewer attempts).

Moving on to rebounding, Turner averages 7.2 rebounds per game in comparison to Diebler's 3.2, which we might expect given that Turner is in a better position to rebound. However, one would expect that in assists and steals, the two might be comparable. Turner has recorded 29 assists to Diebler's 18 on the season and also bested him in steals with an impressive 27 compared with just 10 for Diebler.

No doubt, Evan Turner is proving to be an extraordinary player, but aside from the statistical comparison keep in mind that Turner has largely created his own success. Whereas our offense has been designed around Diebler in an attempt to allow him every opportunity to light up the scoreboard, yet he has been unable to do so.

If you don't believe me, watch those little white boards the assistant coaches hold up with the plays written on them. Then, watch what transpires when the team heads down the floor on offense. In one play, you'll find Diebler set up on the baseline where he makes a baseline cut off a screen around and outside the arc to get in position for an open three-point look. In another, we overload one side of the court to draw the defense to that side, while Diebler pops out on the opposite wing for a three-point opening. However, even with these wide-open looks, he's struggled to put the ball in the basket. And outside of those plays, he doesn't move around or try to create other offensive opportunities.

For the record - Diebler scored just 5 points in his 38 minutes against West Virginia going 1-7 from three-point land and recording his other two points on an easy layup with just seconds left in the game. In the prior game against UNC Ashville, he went 1-5 scoring just three points in 28 minutes of play.

Again, nothing personal against Jon Diebler, I'm sure he's a great person. However, this is a game about winning. Therefore, continuing to set-up offensive plays around someone who has been unable to deliver just doesn't make sense. And, continuing to play him for well over 32 minutes per game, rather than changing up the rotation makes even less sense. Especially when you consider that he's even weaker on the defensive end of the court where he lacks speed and aggression. What fails to show up in the box score is how many points we give up that are attributed to which team member let their man get away. If that were recordable in a box score, I can tell you that even in the zone defense we've been playing, he would have recorded more "getaways" than points the last two games.

What further bothers me is that in a recent press conference when asked about changing the starting lineups and adjusting playing times, Matta said he would be making those decisions based upon performance and rewarding players accordingly. If this is the case, then I would not have expected to see Diebler play 38 minutes against West Virginia after such a poor showing against UNC Ashville and only scoring one basket in the first half of play against WV.

Now - all of this may become somewhat of a moot point with David Lighty out for the majority of the season due to injury, and the recent announcement of the departure of Anthony Crater meaning that our options are becoming slimmer. Nonetheless, what message does it send to the rest of the team? The message I would get if I were sitting on the bench is that playing time doesn't necessarily relate to performance.

So - in light of the announcement by Crater - what needs to happen as we head into 2009?

-It would appear that 6'3" guard Walter Offutt may move into a more prominent position in the rotation, with perhaps some more playing time for P.J. Hill off the bench as well. (Yes - I'm still waiting for P.J. to become an all-star to so I can finally have an OSU jersey that says Hill on the back!)

-Matta has toyed with the Twin Tower lineup that I've been begging for with Lauderdale and Mullens on the court simultaneously, which also pulls Kyle Madsen into the lineup for relief. The concept is not flawed, however the execution has been. To make this work, the offense has to be realigned in such a way we are feeding the two big men consistently, thus collapsing the defense inside and creating opportunity for our guards (a la Jon Diebler) to nail a wide open jumper. Add to that a driving threat of Evan Turner and you should have yourself quite a threatening offense. How do we make it work? Matta has to do the unthinkable and head into 2009 with a completely new playbook and change his offensive mentality. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. However, our offensive weakness has shown that this facet of play is in severe need of an overhaul.

-Defensively, I'm struggling with the zone we've been running because somehow we're allowing teams to pull our big guys out all over the floor. Further, we're not able to transition into it smoothly and a team like West Virginia that is quick down the floor was able to exploit that all night long. I wouldn't rule out the zone altogether, but I wouldn't be afraid to toy around a little more with a man-to-man defense. While it might loosen up the passing lanes, it should tighten our transition enough to compensate.

-REBOUND! We've struggled all season to get hungry and get position on the boards.

Well, what else can I say as we head into 2009 hoping that brighter things lie ahead? Put me in, coach!